Emil

“Rival” — Latin via German origin

Boy's name · #1269 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Emil belongs to an older America first — it reached #90 back in 1881 — yet it still appears in today's records at #1269. About 33,000 boys have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Around the world: #2 in Finland (Swedish-sp.) (2025) · #2 in Norway (2025) · #5 in Germany (2025) · #7 in Finland (Finnish-sp.) (2025) · #16 in Austria (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 11 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Emils

Emil von Behring — German physiologist who received the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1901 for his discovery of a diphtheria antitoxin
Emil Cioran — Romanian-French philosopher and essayist (1911–1995)
Emil Theodor Kocher — surgeon, laureate of the 1909 Nobel Prize in Medicine (1841-1917)
Emil Zátopek — Czech long-distance runner (1922-2000)
Emil Jannings — German actor (1884-1950)

In stories & tradition

Emil Svensson — Emil from Lönneberga · That Boy Emil
Emil (Abomination) — Tales to Astonish
Emil Eagle — Mickey Mouse universe

What Emils become

Among 5,694 notable people named Emil:

Business leaders appear 2.19× more often than among typical names — e.g. Emil Škoda, Bohemian engineer and industrialist (1839-1900).

Similar names: Emile · Charley · Emmitt · Marcellus · Will · Emery

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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